Author: admin

In the last couple of years the conspiracy theorists convinced quite a few people that centuries ago the Mayan calendar predicted the world is ending tomorrow – just when we are starting to gain a bunch of momentum with our business. So, this may be the last blog entry I write.

Of course, an Art History professor at the University of Texas at Austin – a renowned expert on Maya culture and winner of the UNESCO medal for lifetime contributions on Maya archeological sites – thinks there is a different explanation: providing comfort during a time of crisis.

“The hieroglyphs emphasized seventh century history and politics,” said David Stuart in an article on the school’s website. The world’s leading epigrapher of Maya script recently deciphered 56 glyphs in the Guatemalan jungle and discovered 200 years of history. “The monument commemorated a royal visit… by the most powerful Maya ruler… a few months after his defeat by a longstanding rival in 695 AD.”

Instead of predicting the world’s demise, Stuart believes the calendar alluded to a larger cycle of time that “happens to end in 2012.” When troubled, the ancient Maya “used their calendar to promote continuity and stability.” The importance of December 21, 2012, is to introduce a new cycle of hope. It’s “the end of 13 bak’tuns” and “the point was to associate the diving king’s time on the throne to time on a cosmic scale.”

Rest easy tonight. You’re likely going to wake up tomorrow just in time to do all that last-minute Christmas shopping. After all, as Stuart notes, “There are many more bak’tuns to come.”

Since I love to write so much – guess that’s why I earned a Journalism degree! – I frequently help clients by providing copy for their marketing materials. One of the ongoing projects I have is creating an e-newsletter every six weeks for a company in Boston. To finalize the December issue, I needed to do some fact-checking about the person we are highlighting.

This young lady grew up in the worst of circumstances – father in prison, mother addicted to drugs, brother committed suicide – yet she excelled in athletics and graduated as valedictorian of her high school class and earned the prestigious Horatio Alger Scholars Award to offset college tuition. She matriculated at Tufts University in Boston, all the way across the country from her home. Since the latest information I had was three years old, I needed to know how she’s doing now, so I put on my detective hat.

After several Google searches failed to provide any updates, I called her high school  to see if anyone had ‘the rest of the story.” Unbelievably, the woman who answered told me her son and this outstanding citizen dated, then she filled in the blanks. After a year in Boston, Stephanie transferred to Oregon State University and is pursuing becoming a veterinarian.

Of course, the best part of this is someone who has no idea who I am – and no real reason to help – had the trust and confidence to speak with me. She didn’t hide behind any confidentiality concerns or pass me on to someone else to say, “Sorry, we can’t share that information.” Instead, she was upfront and candid, allowing me to place a perfect bow on this inspirational holiday story. It made my day.